Brindleboy123's Blog

Howdy folks!

Here we are then at the end of yet another month…May 2011 on the horizon. Unbelievabubble! I have now entered the brown brigade….at the moment I look more Jamacan that I do Bristolian!  As many of you will know, we have lived here in Spain for coming on 9 years and until this month I would say that we had been on the beach probably 2, maybe 3 times!  May not sound remarkable but when you consider that we live right opposite the sea, people do often find it strange!

Since we have been without Chunky boy, our life seems to be very different and we don’t seem to have such a routine as we did previously.  Quite out of the blue (probably a “tropical moment”), I suggested that we went to the beach and sunbathed!  Not sure if it was the shock of the suggestion or what, but within a few hours there we were…on the beach! We had a great time, just relaxing and people watching…excellent!

Now when the Spanish “go to the beach”, they “go to the beach”! They walk past our window with chairs, bags , umbrellas the lot usually tied together and pulled along on wheels from some old shopping trolley that they have found by one of the bins!  Not to be outdone (that just wouldn’t be right!), the following day we took ourselves off to Carrefour to buy in our supplies!  Two fold-down chairs, an umbrella (largest possible of course!), a tray for the umbrella pole, a cool box and the obligatory battery operated water squirting fan!

Our next trip to the beach we were prepared!  The wind had picked up a little but everyone seemed to have their umbrellas up so we didn’t envisage any problems.  But there was…..the other umbrellas were your standard “umbrellas for the beach” type….not ours!  Let’s just say a family of 10 could probably sit quite comfortably under it and still have room to invite their friends around!  Anyway, the umbrella obviously required a much calmer day and probably something more substantial (like a bulldozer) to secure it into the sand, so we decided that we would just play it cool and pretend that we had decided to toughen out the sun and keep the umbrella down!  The tray by the way didn’t fit on the pool anyway!  The fold down chair was fine although something that didn’t fold quite so low would have probably been preferable.  I wasn’t too keen on the fan…the idea of something squirting water directly into my eye just seemed to be ridiculous and a complete waste of me investing in new lens’s for someone to just squirt water, mixed with the odd bit of sand, directly into them! Loved the cool box though!

Also for the first time in 9 years, we bought some sun cream.  Probably a bit late to feel the benefits as my skin is now something akin to a wrinked up piece of paper that has been ironed out in places, but as least we were now trying.  As seemed to be the norm, Tony covered me and I covered him….why I ended up with bruises on my legs led me to believe that perhaps he was purposely a little heavy handed though…ok I could have got it from falling over my own feet but I’m not going to tell him that!

Tony had taken me to the Chinese shop up the road (my man knows how to treat a woman) and bought me some new swimwear so there we were, all kitted out and ready for our relaxing afternoon.  What I didn’t know was that when you visit a Spanish beach it is also necessary to take everything with you, practically including your bankers card! We were approached by 3 moroccans selling sun-glasses (hey, I’m wearing some!!), one chinese lady who was offering me a massage on the beach…..is that really decent?!, another chinese lady offering me every DVD or CD known to man for 2 euros, a leaflet for a night in a new bar, 5 lemons for a euro and another woman who threw a bag of bikinis on the sand and every Spanish women within a mile radius came over and just stripped off in front of us and started to try them on…..the best bit was they were the exact same ones that I had bought previously in the Chinese shop!

Several visits later, we are now apparently “looking well” as several people have told me…have to say that Mum always used to say that I “looked well” although I normally found out that what she really meant was “you have put on weight!”  Hopefully that is not the case now, particularly as Tony and I are still “eating sensibly”.  Tony has managed to lose 18 kilos through his continued keep fit regime and I still have no idea what I have lost although some of my clothes seem to be fitting me better (fitting at all is an improvement to be honest) this year.

This being Easter weekend has seen a huge increase in the number of people that have arrived in our block.  It is now probably 2/3rds full and completely different to the block we have known over the last 6 months or so. It feels like we are sharing our “front garden” with everyone as we have been so used to being able to walk outside the front door and not seeing anyone.  Now when you go out there are people sat around the pool and children running around everywhere…joy of joys!  It is actually quite nice to see the old faces again.  On the whole they are a very friendly lot and its nice that they all take the time to come over to say hello and give the obligatory kiss.  Did I ever tell you about dear old Carlos’ mother in law?  She was in her 90’s and sadly passed away a few years ago.  She used to come down from Madrid with Carlos and his wife every year and everyone loved her.  She was very independent and would walk around the pool area with her stick saying hello to everyone that she passed.  The best bit was when she gave you a kiss.  She would practically suck your cheeks and Tony always used to say “you’ve been kissed…you’ve still got the marks on your face!”  You would hear granny kissing someone from 100 meters!  God bless her.

Heard from Samantha that my other daughter, Colette, is planning to get married in December.  I’m deeply sad that I will not be invited to the wedding as Colette still prefers not to have me in her life.  Nothing would make me happier than be able to see her marry but I know that is just not going to happen.  I know it is terribly sad when divorce comes and I don’t know where I failed in handling the situation but although in my mind I was leaving my husband of 25 years, I also lost a much loved daughter in the process.  Perhaps one day the situation will change, at the moment is seems to be unlikely but who knows I just have to hope against all hope that one day I will be able to share life with her again.  In the meantime I am blessed with Samantha and her husband Ben and the fact that in just 7 weeks or so my first grandchild will be born.  Samantha is doing ok but I think she is very tired.  They have been coping with so much, moving home, office and the baby that its no wonder she is tired.  Not too long now….soooo excited!

In Spain, each “community”, ie block of apartments etc has by law to have a meeting each year to elect its president, discuss finances etc.  Our normal meeting is in August but this year we have had to have an extra meeting because of problems with the pool area – leaks into the garages below etc.  Well, this meeting was on Friday.  Started at 8 and finished at 11 and total madness is the only way to decribe it!  Everyone shouting to be heard…hands flying around (why do Spanish need to express themselves so much with their hands?).  Our 3 hour meeting achieved absolutely nothing to do with the repairs that were needed on the square and only succeeded in an agreement to repair the pipe that is leaking into the street!  So we get to go through the whole lot again in August….just can’t wait.  The funny thing is when they argue and moan at each other you would assume that they would not speak to each other again.  Funny thing is, as soon as the meeting is over it is as if nothing has happened and they are all sat together having a glass of wine!  No grudges whatsoever….isn’t it a shame that isn’t the same everywhere.

Right, I’m off now to put the TENS machine on my back…..stupid here cleaned the toilet and managed to twist awkwardly and put my back out – old age doesn’t come alone does it! Small problem compared with what others have to put up with.  I’ve seen that several friends on the Carers UK forum are struggling at the moment….big hug to you all, thinking of you all often….hold on in there folks.

Take care everyone, see you again next month.

Bell x

We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.  ~Frederick Keonig

Hi there everyone,

Long time no write!  Its been a month now since we said our farewells to our mate marmite and it has been quite a tough month in many ways emotionally.  I haven’t really felt much like writing and have just spent much of my spare time doing mind numbing things on the internet.  Anyway, today I have celebrated my 53rd birthday!  I really can’t believe it….53 alwys used to seem “so old” and now, I’m there….does that mean I am now middle aged? I received some lovely cards and the funny thing was, they all referred to either food (on the whole, cake and chocolate), handbags or shoes!  My friends and family must really know me better than I thought! Tony did a brillient one on Moonpig and it is like a magazine cover with the story of my singing and hopes for a record deal!  I can but dream!!   I don’t feel my age, in my head anyway, my body gives me constant reminders that I am older now and it is about time  to stop walking on sea-walls, skipping along the road with Tony (don’t worry, we always check that no-one is watching…the thought of a 6 foot 2, 17 stone man and a 4 foot 11 inch (not daft enough to type my weight!) woman skipping would be too much for anyone!) Then again, why not…so long as I can get my leg over the wall and we don’t fall over as we skip along, who gives a damn!

At the beginning of the month we sorted out Chunky’s bits and pieces and passed on some things to a local charity that cares and raises money for the Spanish galgos dogs.  They do a brillient job and need all the help that they can get.  Life, or should I say the people in it, can be very cruel to these dogs so every little helps them with their attempts to not only save the animals that are being mistreated but also to raise awareness of their plight.  It was interesting that this particular charity have also started visiting children in local schools…wht a great idea.  Please take a moment to read about the charity here:

http://www.torrevieja.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=76794

Other things belonging to our big boy have now been placed in a box and put away as I think we both found it too painful to have the reminders that he is no longer with us around.  We still have his photo of course and I’m sure he is looking at me…let’s hope so anyway!  Bobby seems to still be in a bit of a depression and has changed quite a bit in his ways since Chunky boy died.  He no longer will sleep with us but insists on sleeping in Chunky’s old bed and like Chunky used to do, he has began to refuse anything at breakfast time.  In fact, he is a bit of a misery and very clingy.  We took him to the vets yesterday just to get him checked out and the initial blood tests took fine but we have paid to get a further analysis done just to be on the safe side.  Evil Edna is fine and is keeping Bobby on his toes! Actually, they are both fast asleep next to me and it is actually quite nice to see them actually snuggling close together.  Peace in our time!

I went over to the UK just for a weekend to see Samantha and Ben.  Samantha was almost 30 weeks when I got there and unlike her mother is carrying her baby  very neatly.  I really did resemble Demis Rousos (not sure of the spelling but I’m sure you will recognise the name!) very early in my pregnancy but Samantha just seems to have a bump and doesn’t even look pregnant from behind.  It was really lovely to see her.  She seemed very tired which isn’t surprising as she has had such a lot to contend with lately. Apart from being pregnant, she has also moved house and the company she works for have moved offices so she has further to go each day.  Not sure how much longer she will be able to cope with working full time as well.

We went to the Eastgate centre where they have shops such as Mamas and Papas, Mothercare and Boots…everything you could wish for when little one is on the way.  Now, buying a pram is no mean fete.  It is like going to battle without knowing the apparatus.  Pregnancy and menopause both play their part in ensuring that you are unable to make a decision so 3 hours later it was time for me to move the car.  For some stupid reason, you can only stay in the car park for 3 hours and you can’t return within a certain time either so I had to leave Samantha and leave the car park to move into Ikea next door!  Not exactly a rule that encourages you to stay in the area to shop!  Obviously a rule put in place by a man!

Neither Samantha nor I knew what to get when it came to prams.  It all seemed so difficult and we walked around Mamas and Papas looking very much like newby’s to the pram scene.  It wasnt too long before a very kind shop assistant took pity on us and showed us exactly what all these machines do and the way she turned that pram into a car seat carrier was truly professional!  Sold to Mrs and Mrs Gullable!  Add to the bag plenty of baby clothes, a moses basket and stand, blankets and bibs and a very harrassed Mum to be was ready to go home.

For the first time on my travels to the UK, I hired a car.  I have to admit I was a little nervous because I really haven’t driven for a couple of years.  I booked through Argushire on the internet and it was a fairly good price at £47 for the 2 days.  They picked me up at the airport and took me down the road to their offices to fill in all the paperwork.  I was waffling on to him as I normally do about how I hadn’t driven and how it will be strange to be on the “other side of the road” when I realised that he looked abit worried!  When I asked him if he had a pillow he asked if he should get one to go all the way round the car!  Cheek! Anyway, I decided to pay the full excess of £15 per day because if you don’t do this they automatically put £750 on your credit card and this is taken off again when you bring the car back in tip top condition!

On the Sunday my flight home wasn’t until just before 8 o’clock at night but I had to get the car back for 3.30 otherwise I would be liable for a further day’s hire.  I filled up the car on the way back to the airport with another £5 as it only had to go back quarter full, drove around the forecourt of the garage and noticed that the petrol guage hadn’t moved so went back to the pump and put in another £5 and paid the now very confused attendent!  When I drove away and along the road, the guage went right up to nearly half full!  Typical…mental note not to do that again in future!  I pulled into the office of the car hire feeling very pleased with myself that all had gone well on the driving front….then I met him. Mr Jobsworth!  He must have been 16 (ok, probably more like 19 but he still had spots!) He looked all around the car, ticking as he went on his clipboard (every jobsworth should have one!) Then he invited me to return to the office with him.  I was then told how lucky I was that I had taken out the excess otherwise I would have been charged £150 for the damage!!  What damage I asked???? Apparently I had damaged the wheeltrim on the kerb.  I defended myself demanding that I hadn’t parked anywhere near a kerb all weekend.  (Actually that was absolutely true because I had only parked on Samantha’s drive and in the shop car-park where there were no kerbs.  Mr Jobsworth just looked me in the eye and with that Easyjet manner (you know the one, its on all the programmes you see), asked why I was making such a fuss “Madam” when “you are not being charged”!!!  Little upstart…I hadn’t parked by a kerb!  Mr Jobsworth told me to just “sign the paper”.  I signed but made a note on the page to say that I hadn’t parked by a kerb!!!  I was taken back to the airport by Jobsworth who, obviously feeling sorry for the old dear, said that it was possible that the trim had been damaged in a pot-hole!!!  Must have been a very deep pot hole and I think I would have noticed don’t you!!  Mental note to try a different car hire company next time and to definately make sure that we pay for excess.

Back at the airport I had 4 hours to kill so I got myself a paper and a sandwhich and settled down in a comfy chair to phone Tony to let him know that the flight was on time.  Tony suggested that I went into the VIP lounge…ummmm not a bad idea!  Went upstairs to the lounge and paid the £16.  Payment has to be made by a card not cash…ok.  Then, I give my boarding card, home address and then have to show more id! Come on, I have just got through departures easier!  Eventually settled down and have to say it really was worth it.  Free drinks, snacks, papers, internet for 3 hours.  I was able to phone home and Samantha for free on Skype and don’t tell anyone, even managed to sneak a can of coke into my bag for on the plane!!! When we went to Las Vegas Tony and I used the lounge in Gatwick and it was great because they served hot foot too, so it was really worth the money there as food costs an absolute fortune in Gatwick.

Flight home was ok and the wine I had earlier meant that I didn’t even take that much notice of the man next to me snoring…it was just like being at home actually!

Tony has continued his “keep fit” regime and is still doing 1 hour a day down in the garage on the walking machine and all the other articles of horror otherwise known as gym equipment!  So far he has managed to lose around 11 kilos which is very good for him.  I have avoided the “gym” but have followed the healthy eating  (don’t really have a choice do you when your significant other is doing so well with his diet?!) I have a phobia about scales…don’t go near the things for fear of what they may say…but can tell from my clothes that I have obviously lost some weight.  I think perhaps I need to do some exercise too so have decided to wait until the swimming pool is warm enough to do an hour or so a day (yeah right!).  Unfortunately (!) the weather is still a little too cold at night to keep the pool warm but the day is near.  I actually woke Tony in the middle of the night on Wednesday because he WASN’T snoring!  It scared me because I guess I am so used to hearing him howling grunts into my ear throughout the night.  I think it is because of his weight loss as it happened once before when he lost weight.  Can’t win can you….snoring keeps me awake because of the noise and nowadays I can’t sleep because he isn’t snoring.  Not sure which I prefer!

Torrevieja is still rather quiet with very few holiday makers arriving in our area. No-one has arrived at all in our block which is unusual for this time of year.  I think nowadays it is probably cheaper for people to take once again, the package holidays which  became less popular over recent years.  To pay for a flight, apartment, food and car hire it is very expensive and probably far cheaper to buy a complete package deal.  I think several people will be struggling this year as many seem to rely upon the rental market to survive and more and more apartments and villas are on the market at extroadinarily low prices.  One two bedroom apartment here has recently sold for just 67,000 euros whereas just 12 months ago it would have been expected to get a minimum of 100,000 if not more.

I was talking to a young lady that makes a living out of renting apartments and asked her why she didn’t do more “long term” rentals.  I knew it can be a little complicated here in Spain but didn’t realise how complicated!  She told me that it is very, very difficult to get people to leave if they don’t pay the rent and the courts will always look favourably on those who are renting, allowing them to stay up to 5 years without payment.  Surprisingly (or not!) it is apparently not the Spanish that flaunt this law the most.  I’m told that the most problems are from those from immigrants who quickly learn the rules and take full advantage.

Well, today was Mothers Day in the UK and I had a lovely card from Samantha.  Next year she will have one herself from her little one.  How strange it is to think of your own baby having a child.  We were due to go out this evening to celebrate my birthday and it was very difficult to find a restaurant that wasn’t full of families celebrating Mothering Sunday, even though Mother’s day in Spain is later in the year.  We did manage to book somewhere but have had to cancel because we are absolutely full of cake.  After our joint fasting (ok, should call it healthy eating), I decided that I wanted chocolate cake on my birthday. Tony and I took a trip to town this morning and I had a lovely piece of chocolate cake with coffee. We bought some more cakes and ate those when we got home!  Then just after, our dear friends Jane and Gordon came around with a huge chocolate birthday cake for me!  I can almost hear my arteries thickening and the warm air is obviously shrinking my dress as I type!  Ah well, tomorrow is another day and I have the joy of yet more carrots, cabbage and broccoli awaiting me!  Lovely!!

Forgot to mention, have I told you about my attempts at Karaoke?  Tony and I have avoided it like the plague since we came over here but about a month ago we were persuaded to go to a local bar with friends.  Now Gordon sings wonderfully and his rendition of I Pretend (Des O’connor) can bring me to tears but there was no way I was going to get up and give it a go.  The following week I don’t know what happened but I found myself up there, in front of all those people singing (well trying to) Que Sera Sera! Four weeks later that is my signature tune!!!  I sing like an angel, unfortunately a tone deaf one but hey ho, I don’t care…I have a laugh and really enjoy myself.  I know I should be looking at songs by Adele, Janet Jackson but for some reason am drawn towards Doris Day, Connie Francis!  One song that I adore is Frankie by Connie Francis but it would appear that no-one else has heard of it and the Karaoke man has to put in a special order for me!!!  So I guess I really am old!……..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-Jetds-O38 ..

Take care everyone and I would just like to thank everyone for their emails following my tribute to Chunky Boy.  It meant a great deal to us both.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Speak to you all again real soon.

Love Bell x

They say that age is all in your mind.  The trick is keeping it from creeping down into your body.  ~Author Unknown